BE.109:Orientation

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CURRENTLY CONTAINS OLD INFORMATION!!!!!!

Welcome to BE109! For many of you this will be the first time in a research lab and for others it will not, but it is our goal to make this class a useful and fun introduction to experiments and techniques in biological engineering. There is not time enough to show you everything you’ll need to know if you go on to do research, but after taking this class you should feel confident and familiar with some fundamental experimental approaches and lab protocols. You will develop good habits at the bench, ones that will increase the likelihood of success in your work and insure the health and safety of you and those around you. By the end of the semester, you should also be aware of good scientific practice, having had some experience with report writing, notebook keeping and publicly presenting your data. All of us involved in teaching BE.109 hope you will find it a satisfying challenge and an exciting experience that has lasting value.

Layout of the class

You will perform four series of experiments (called “modules”) over the course of the semester. The modules differ in length and in the ways you will be assessed. The experiments and your assignments are:

    Module	Topic				Assignment				% of final grade
    1		Protein Engineering		written report				25
    2		Protein Chemistry		oral presentation			10
    3		Genetic Engineering		written report			        25
    4		Expression Engineering	        oral presentation with written text	20		

You will be working as pairs throughout the semester, but you will be submitting individual lab reports and giving individual oral presentations.

In addition to the assignments listed above there will be

• Daily Lab Quizzes (5% of final grade)
  • These are intended to refresh your memory about the experiment you are performing. They will not be hard and should take no more than 5 minutes at the beginning of lab.
• Homework Assignments (10% of final grade)
  • These will vary considerably. You may be asked to perform a calculation, draw a conclusion, and/or make a figure using the data you have collected.
• Laboratory Notebooks (5% of final grade)
  • You will record your data on the white pages of a bound notebook. The yellow, duplicate pages will be collected and evaluated by the TA.

Late work will be penalized 1/3 of a letter grade for each day late and will not be accepted after a week.

Lab Attendance

Lab attendance is mandatory and there are no make-up labs. A family crisis or severe illness requiring attention from the infirmary and prohibiting you from all your coursework are acceptable reasons for missing lab and every effort will be made to accommodate you in these exceptional circumstances.

Who's who

Lecturers

Prof. Angela Belcher

• 16-244
• 4-2800
• belcher@mit.edu

Dr. Natalie Kuldell

• 16-731
• 4-0085
• nkuldell@mit.edu

Prof. Bevin Engelward

• 56-631
• 8-0260
• bevin@mit.edu

Prof. Leona Samson

• 56-235
• 8-7813
• lsamson@mit.edu

Teaching assistants

Eugene Antipov

• antipov AT mit DOT edu

Sreeja Gopal

• sreeja@mit.edu

Ericka Noonan

• emn@mit.edu

Steve Sazinsky

• ssazinsk@mit.edu

Dominika Wiktor

• dmwiktor@mit.edu

       LECTURES 	TEACHING LAB
       T/R 11-12	T/R 1-5 or W/F 1-5
       13-3101		13-3095
              		2-2886, 2-2887